The subject matter disclosed herein generally relates to the field of air separation canister systems, and more particularly to installation and removal apparatus and methods for air separation canister systems.
Air separation systems on aircraft utilize the pressure differential between air inside of the aircraft and air outside of the aircraft to separate air, such as cabin air or bleed air, into a first fraction that is slightly enriched with oxygen and a second fraction that is highly enriched with nitrogen. The nitrogen rich air is supplied to the fuel tanks of the aircraft and used to provide an inert atmosphere inside the fuel tanks as fuel is consumed.
Traditional air separation modules include canisters that are mounted within a frame assembly and the frame assembly is mounted into an aircraft. One or more canisters may be integrally connected with the frame assembly. To remove and/or change a canister that is part of one of these systems, the entire frame assembly must be removed from the aircraft. As the frame assemblies, with integral canisters, are heavy and bulky, the process for removing and/or changing the canisters may be difficult and/or time consuming.